


Discoveries and Revelations

by Arisprite



Series: Yuuko Ichihara’s Hitsuzen: Four Star Restaurant and Bar [8]
Category: xxxHoLic
Genre: Doumeki coming out to his family, Flashbacks, M/M, Meeting the Family, Watanuki's relationship history
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-01
Updated: 2016-01-01
Packaged: 2018-05-10 19:06:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5597434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arisprite/pseuds/Arisprite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Watanuki is heading to a coffee shop, where Doumeki and his parents are waiting for the meet-the-family moment. Meanwhile, Doumeki and Watanuki have a close brush in their teenage years, and have formative experiences.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Flashback episode! This story incorporates a lot of original characters, but it should still be enjoyable throughout. There are a lot of headcanons for the Restaurant AU universe, in which I try to explain character traits and actions in a world without magic and fate and wishes, and hopefully create more of a cohesive story as we move forward. Thanks, as always for reading and giving whatever feedback you desire! 
> 
> Happy New Years!

Driving home to his parents house didn’t take nearly long enough. Today was the day. He was going to tell his mother and father that he was dating someone, and that… (well, he supposed they’d have to know this part) that he was gay. Even having known the fact about himself for years, it had never really come up, not with anyone save his grandfather. But he needed to tell them. He couldn’t make this change in his life, and continue to go eat dinner at their house without them knowing. 

It had been a few weeks now, since he and Watanuki had made it official, and almost two months since that first date, and Doumeki knew that he wasn’t intending on stopping this. Something about Watanuki intrigued him, and made him happy and curious and excited to know him more. He wanted him to not be a secret from his family, no matter how they took it. 

Doumeki left the city with minimal traffic, coming to the small suburbs where he’d grown up. It was one of those neighborhoods where the houses mostly looked the same, same age and architecture, and the kids all played together in the street. In the particular cul de sac he pulled into, his parent’s house stood in between his grandparent’s house on his mother’s side, and two sets of aunts and uncles (and cousins aplenty). 

Doumeki stopped his old car, and got out in time to take a bag of ice cream cartons from his grandpa Haruka as he walked into the house. 

“Hello, Shizuka!” Haruka exclaimed, letting him take the bag, gladly and grinning at him. “Long time no see.” 

Doumeki looped the bag over his elbow, and gave his grandpa a side hug. 

“Hi, Grandpa. Sorry about that.” Haruka chuckled. 

“Oh, I understand. Life get’s too busy for a young guy like you to come home, but I’m sure your mother would like to see you more. You eating alright?” 

Doumeki thought of Watanuki’s cooking, and smiled a little. Haruka watched with sharp eyes. 

“Yeah,” 

“Yeah? What, you’ve got someone cooking for you?” Haruka laughed. “You do look a little healthier in the cheeks, not like you’ve been living off top ramen.” 

Doumeki shook his head. “No top ramen, I swear.” 

Haruka looked at him. “So you _do_ have someone cooking for you?” 

Doumeki pushed back a bit of blush, and didn’t speak, but his grandpa could read him like one of his many many books. 

“You do!” 

Doumeki glanced at the house, not wanting to spill to Haruka first, but not wanting to lie to him either. 

“I’ll tell you later. I have to take this to the freezer,” he said, remembering the ice cream bags. They probably weren’t melting too much yet, it was only late April after all, but he still wanted to go speak to his mother, and she’d definitely be in or near the kitchen. 

“Alright, alright. I’ll let you keep your secrets.” Haruka smiled at him and tapped the side of his nose. Then his eyes sharpened in memory, and Doumeki knew he was thinking the same thing that Doumeki was. “I won’t say anything either.” 

“Thanks, grandpa,” Doumeki murmured. Haruka clapped him on the shoulder. 

“What I told you back then is still true, Shizuka. You know that.” 

“I know, grandpa,” Doumeki said and nodded, before he took the bags on ahead, wanting to find his mother, and step-father and get this over with. 

Haruka was his father’s father, but he wasn’t actually any one else’s grandfather here. His mother, Keiko and his birth father had lived across town when he was born, only to lose his father Jiro to an illness in the very same hospital he’d been born in. Haruka moved in to help with a grieving widow and an infant, and Keiko moved into this neighborhood between her two sisters and their families. Then, when Doumeki was about five, she’d met and married his step father Hayato, and life had been settled down ever since. 

There were family get togethers often, with how close the three families lived together, and Doumeki had a handful of cousins all his age to play with as children, and get into trouble with as teenagers. Doumeki headed straight into the kitchen, avoiding the den area where he knew all the ones who were home from college or went locally were, searching out his mother. 

Keiko was putting a tray of lasagna into the oven when Doumeki entered. Dinner wouldn’t be ready for a while, and soon there would be a crowd of helpers in the room, but for now it was just his mom. 

“Hi, mom,” he said, coming in and heading to the freezer with the ice cream. “Got these from grandpa.” 

Keiko closed the oven, and turned around, a smile lighting up her face. 

“Shizuka, you made it,” she said, warmly, moving forward to pull his head forward in a hug. He had to bend down a lot - she was a small woman, with glasses and short hair. “Give your mother a kiss.” 

He kissed her cheek, and she patted his shoulders. 

“You’re just in time to help set the table,” she said, pulling away and moving towards the drawers where they kept the silverware and napkins. “Have you seen your father yet?” 

Doumeki shook his head. “No, just grandpa,” he said, following her. The first thing involved in setting the table was rolling the napkins, nice cloths ones that Keiko insisted on using, around the forks, knives and spoons, and folding them nicely. Keiko brought out the tray from the drawer, and began counting out place settings. They always had a few extra or not enough. Doumeki grabbed a handful of forks and started to help. 

“So, tell me how’s life? School? Your roommates? You don’t call me enough, though probably every mother thinks that.” 

Doumeki remembered Watanuki’s father saying the same thing, and smiled a little bit, thinking of him. 

“I think you’re right,” Doumeki said, picking up a group of spoons to sort out into the piles. “Sorry.” 

“Psh,” Keiko said. “Tell me now. What’s new?” 

Doumeki took a breath. It was now, or he’d be even more anxious in days to come. Already he was beginning to tremble a little, and his stomach was tight. Keiko noticed, in the slight pause before he spoke, and looked at him through her wire rimmed eyeglasses. 

“Everything alright, honey?” she asked, concern overtaking her usual calmness. 

Doumeki nodded, because it really _was_ , and tried to smile. “It’s … I came to tell you something.” 

The words stuck, and Doumeki felt his face redden. The room was quiet, and his mother watched him, waiting like she was so good at. Doumeki took another breath and spat it out. 

“I’m dating someone… a boy I met at the restaurant.” 

Keiko’s face went through a series of expressions, and Doumeki forced himself to look away, in case it ended on a bad one. He felt sick, and leaned away from the table to stare at the floor, as his heart pounded. She didn’t respond. 

~~~

 

**Flashback - Doumeki’s senior year of High School, about 4 years ago.**

Shizuka Doumeki sighed as he heard the latch click on his bedroom window, as one of his cousins eased it open behind him. Shizuka lowered his head, and tried to focus on finishing this last problem on his homework, before he got interrupted, but the person or persons who’d entered his room weren’t being very quiet, giggling and thumping on the roof as they worked the window open. 

His cousin Noah had figured out a few years ago that Shizuka’s room was the perfect one for getting into secretly, with a giant tree that grew up along the side of the house, and a window latch on the big window that didn’t close completely. Shizuka’s room was also on the far side of the house from his parents, and he didn’t have an tattling younger siblings, not like Noah or Sasuke did. Those two, and the twins Kaya and Kana often gathered in Shizuka’s room. Usually without an invitation. 

“If you keep thumping, my parents are going to hear you,” Shizuka called out, without turning around. He was almost done with this problem. 

The laughter grew, and he knew then that it was all of them, which meant they were probably going to drag him out of his room, and convince him to get up to no good with them. All his close calls with parents or school came when he listened to the other three. 

“C’mon, Zuka, open the window,” called Kaya, and Shizuka hummed. 

“I know you can do it yourself.” He didn’t look up, finally finishing his problem, and he took his time moving to the next one. There were various more clicks, and then the window pane slid upwards, and Noah, Sasuke, Kaya and Kana poured into his room, to flop onto his bed. 

“Hey, Zuke!” Noah said, bouncing down to lay on his covers. “What’cha doing?” 

Shizuka took a breath, and turned from his desk, still holding his pencil. 

“Homework,” he said, flatly. 

He got a chorus of raspberries, and other derisive noises. 

“C’mon, Shizuka, it’s a Friday night!” Kaya said. 

“You’ve got plenty of time,” Kana finished. “We have to go out tonight!” Kaya and Kana were juniors, and had a high opinion of being able to party out on the weekends. Sasuke was graduated, while Noah and Shizuka were in the same grade, yet somehow they always ended up doing what the younger girls wanted. 

“Out,” Shizuka said, almost an inquiry, but he knew better than that. Kana nodded, and put her chin in her elbows, feet in the air as she lay on his bed. 

“There’s a party in the canyon tonight. Scott Bascqual is throwing it, and _everyone_ is going to be there!”

Scott Bascqual was the soccer captain on Shizuka’s and Noah’s team, and he was wildly popular, far too attractive for his own good, and threw too many parties. Shizuka was unimpressed. 

“ _Everyone_ is too many people,” he said, and turned back to his desk. 

He immediately had Noah hanging around his neck. “C’mon man! It’ll be fun!” 

With a sigh, Shizuka dropped his head, and turned to look at the group. He always ended up giving in to them, and getting dragged places he didn’t want to be. He shrugged, knowing the fight to stay would be nearly as much effort as going would be in the first place. 

So, they all piled into Shizuka’s car (one of the real reasons he always got asked to things, was he had the wheels) and drove to the further outskirts of town, where the directions on the wrinkled paper Kana had printed led them. 

The party was actually at someone’s house, a big vacation one, probably without parental permission. There were already a ton of people there, and Shizuka could feel the music blaring through his feet as he walked over the lawn to get to the front door, trailing after his cousins, and really not wanting to be there. They entered without knocking on the open door, and looked into the big main room. People were drinking, that much was clear, and teenage hormones were running high, with people dancing and screaming and pairing off in the corners of the room. 

Shizuka made a face, and headed immediately for the table on the side of the room, where chip bags and bottles of dip had been opened and dropped, and most of the space was taken up with cans of beer and red cups that had already been used. 

“Hey!” Noah said, to someone, and dragged him along to say hi to people from their soccer team, while Kana and Kaya found some cute guys to drape over. It looked like there were people from other schools there as well, as there were a lot of teens he didn’t recognize. Sasuke hung back with Shizuka, but his eyes were flickering over the crowd like he was looking for someone. Shizuka was handed a beer can, and he looked at it, and shrugged. At least it was cold. 

The party went on blaring in his ears, while Shizuka finished his can and was handed another, not that he really noticed much of an effect. He wandered the floor where people were dancing, almost feeling curiosity, if he weren’t so bored. What was it about this sort of thing that made people what to run around and be all crazy?

Shizuka ended up against the wall, leaning near his cousin Sasuke, taking another sip of a second beer can. Sasuke had one too, and a handful of pretzels he was crunching on every minute. 

“I’m really too old for this sort of thing,” Sasuke said, after a while, crunching another pretzel between his teeth. 

Shizuka snorted. “Same,” he said, even though he was the same age as most of the people here. He wondered where Noah and the girls were, and hoped they were having more fun than he was. 

Sasuke looked at him, and offered him a pretzel. Shizuka took it, and crunched too. 

“Yeah… I already know there’s no one here that I like.” 

Shizuka glanced at him, older and quiet, though not the uncomfortably silent skill he seemed to have, the one that pushed most people away. He’d heard the girls call Sasuke ‘tall, dark and handsome.’ He didn’t know about that, but it was probably a lot more attractive than his ‘gangly and freckled’ look. However, even with that, Shizuka had never heard him even talk about girls that he liked, and he never asked anyone out on dates. 

“You?” 

Sasuke smirked. “Well… maybe there’s one person.” Confused, Shizuka looked up at his cousin, to see his dark eyes follow a form moving through the crowd. Sasuke was watching Scott, the host of the party, and his soccer captain. Watching him the way that Noah looked at girls he liked, or that Kana and Kaya looked at boys. A shock went through him, like a light bulb, but more startling, and Shizuka felt his eyes widen. 

“Wha-?” 

Scott turned then, and met Sasuke’s eyes, and smiled, his eyes flickering towards the back door, the back yard. Sasuke swallowed some of his beer, and handed Shizuka the can. 

“See you around,” he said, and Shizuka gaped at him, a blush rising up as he realized what Sasuke was about - that he- 

“Wait, you-?” 

“Sh, keep it down, alright?” Sasuke said, patting him on the shoulder. “Don’t tell anyone. Especially my dad.” 

“But-” 

Sasuke turned back towards him, with a flash of anger, before Scott materialized right in front of them. He was wearing a tight shirt, and smiled a crooked white toothed smile at the two of them, with a special smirk for Sasuke. 

“Everything alright? Enjoying the party?” he asked, and Shizuka stared, unable to come up with an answer, too distracted by the fact the Sasuke wanted to head outside with this boy, and, and kiss him, or whatever people did when they went outside at parties like this. 

“Yeah, we’re fine, Scott,” Sasuke said, and Scott answered him, but Shizuka was staring, trying to see what Sasuke saw. He was attractive, sure. Popular, nice, with tanned skin and a firm body, and flush lips that would probably be fun to kiss. Shizuka wondered if that was how people decided who they were attracted to. Was just wondering if it would be nice to kiss someone enough? Did he want to try it? 

“Zuka, you okay?” Scott asked him, and Shizuka blushed at the other boy, hearing his usual team nickname, and nodded. Sasuke was putting his hand over his eyes, embarrassed, but Scott looked like he’d realized something, and was having a private joke. “Are you sure?” 

Shizuka swallowed, now trying to look away from the boy’s blue eyes, and soft looking lips, unsure what to do with this new thought. It was hot in the room, and he took a gulp of beer, coughing as it went down. 

Scott’s face moved into a determined grin, and he moved to put his hand on Shizuka’s wrist. His palm was hot, and made flutters move through Shizuka’s stomach, even though he’d grabbed onto him plenty of times in practice, directing where to go, or something like that. 

“Hey, Zuka, do you want to go outside?” he asked, voice lowering to a rough little whisper. Sasuke opened his mouth. 

“Scott-” 

“What? I’m just asking if he wants to try. Or do you think something’s wrong with it?” Scott asked, and Shizuka still wasn’t quite following, even when Sasuke lowered his chin and muttered that he didn’t. Scott smiled, and gentled his grip on Shizuka’s wrist, rubbing his thumb back and forth. “Well, what do you say?” 

Shizuka stared, and then looked at Sasuke. Then he nodded. Sasuke looked worried for a moment more, before he caught himself, and rolled his eyes. 

“Fine. Have fun,” he growled, draining the last of his can. “Be careful, Shizuka.” 

Scott didn’t let go of his wrist, but turned to move towards the crowd, casting back a flirty little look at him. Shizuka nearly stumbled as he walked, realizing what he’d just agreed to. First he’d been shocked at his cousin heading out back with Scott, and now he’d agreed to go himself. He wanted to get out of this, he wanted to go home - and yet, he was also so very curious. Much more curious than the prospect of kissing any girls he knew had made him… Shizuka had the heart pounding feeling that the next few minutes were going to change his entire life. 

He followed Scott, until they crossed through the sliding glass door, onto the back porch. It was a large, wrap around one, and Shizuka could already hear giggles from one of the doorway. Scott led him the opposite direction, to a private area, lit only by the lamps of the outdoor lights, and the light of the moon above them. 

Scott turned, and looked at him, and he looked… beautiful, in the moonlight. He was smiling at him, soft and reassuring. 

“Well, I didn’t really expect this,” Scott said, quietly. “You never really struck me the type until this evening.” 

Shizuka swallowed, and pushed down a blush. 

“I didn’t either…” he said, trying to convey his extreme nervousness, how he’d never really thought about this, but that now that he was here, he _did_ want to kiss Scott, and he had no idea what to make of this new feeling. 

Scott looked pleased. “So I’m your first? Or an experimentation? It’s okay if I am. You never really know until you try.” 

Shizuka nodded. “The second one,” he said, and he was reminded of how good a coach Scott was, even if Shizuka didn’t approve of his friends or partying in general. He had a way of making you feel like he was listening to you and only you. “I think.” 

Scott smiled. “That’s okay. Have you kissed any girls yet?” 

Shizuka didn’t want to talk about the girls he had or hadn’t kissed, but he still shook his head, shortly. Scott laughed and then moved closer, so that they were standing less than six inches apart. “Okay. Try it, if you’re still confused after today. Or not. Whatever.” 

Shizuka’s heart rate sped up, and somehow he didn’t think he’d be kissing any girls. 

“Um…” he said, and then Scott leaned in and kissed him. Scott was taller than him, and it was strange to crane his neck up, but, his lips were warm and soft as he’d imagined, and his hands came up to cradle Shizuka’s neck. It was better than he’d ever thought a kiss could be… 

After a moment of kissing, Scott pulled back, and Shizuka followed his lips with a little pout of displeasure, until approaching voices got clearer. 

“Okay, what the hell was that, Matt?” a boy’s voice shrilly yelled.

There was a low answer, then the first voice yelled again. 

“You don’t know? I think it was pretty obvious what you were doing?” 

Shizuka dragged his eyes away from Scott, noticing that his hands had slipped around Scott’s waist, to glance over at the two boys who had stumbled out onto the deck after them. They looked like they were fighting, and the one with flyaway black hair and glasses that glinted in the lamp light was gesticulating wildly. 

“The porch just got a bit crowded. Guess we better head back inside,” Scott said. 

Shizuka opened his mouth to protest, when Scott pushed forward and kissed him again, on his open mouth, diving in for a deeper kiss than he had before. Shizuka was inexperienced, and terror was warring with pleasure in his chest, but he kissed back gladly, until Scott pulled away again, stepping back and untangling himself. 

Shizuka stared at him, hungry for more, feeling frayed and unsure and more raw than he ever had, as Scott smiled at him. Gave him a chuck under the chin, and headed back inside, moving around the two arguing boys on the deck. Shizuka gaped after him, his head spinning with more than the alcohol, as the strangest encounter of his life walked away from him. 

Shizuka spent the rest of the party in a daze, ignoring Noah’s attempts to get him to come dance with a girl he didn’t know from, thinking about Scott and kisses and the fact that he’d just enjoyed what he’d done with him, and how that changed so much. He had no idea what to do about it, and it was, combined with the beer, making him feel sick to his stomach. 

He wasn’t the only one - the party was winding down, and the people who’d drunk too much were moaning, and running outside. It was the nasty side of these things. Kana and Kaya sauntered by, and he caught their attention from where he was seated on a stool, holding his stomach. 

“Hey, can we go?” he asked, and they turned as one and looked at him. They looked as sharp and put together as usual, an enviable talent. Kana wrinkled her nose. 

“Did you drink too much? You look awful!” she said. Kana and Kaya never drank at these things, which probably explained their put-togetherness. At least someone could drive home. 

Shizuka weighed his options, considered saying that he was less sick because of drinking and more because of reconsidering everything he’d ever known about his own sexuality, before he just sighed and nodded. Kaya, the more sympathetic of the twins patted his shoulder, while Kana turned to look for Noah and Sasuke. 

Their car was gathered together, with Kaya supporting a mostly plastered and very sleepy Noah, and Kana digging his keys out of his pocket. Shizuka was glad to let her drive, wanting to huddle in the passenger seat and think. Sasuke slunk into the backseat after meeting Shizuka’s eyes with a worried look. Shizuka had blushed and looked away, and the silence between them was awkward like it had never been. Luckily, Kaya and Kana were good at speaking over them, and filled the car with chatter. 

“And if anyone needs to puke, _please_ let me know. I’m sure Shizuka will thank me later.”

“Mn,” Shizuka agreed, and clunked his head against the glass. 

Later, after sleeping off the miasma of the party, and enduring his father’s disapproving lecture about coming home so late, Shizuka shuffled into the kitchen to get some water, his stomach not really feeling up to food yet. It had taken a moment for his experiment with Scott to come back to him that morning, and when it had, he’d felt a lurch of illness - fear, anxiety, the feeling of ‘oh god what do I do?’ - that he thought he was actually going to throw up. But, then he remembered the pleasure of the actual kiss, how it felt to be touched like that… and suffice it to say, Shizuka had no idea what to do. 

He needed to talk to Sasuke too, he supposed, but he didn’t know what to say. 

His mother and father had left earlier that morning, grocery shopping, which they’d always done together, leaving Shizuka home. He put the water pitcher back into the fridge, and then started when a throat cleared from the kitchen doorway. 

“Leave that out for me, son,” Haruka said. He hadn’t known his grandfather was around - one never knew with him, whether he was out with friends doing who knew what, or volunteering somewhere, or even taking a trip out of the city, state or country with little to no notice. Haruka was a wild one, but he was Shizuka’s absolute favorite adult in the world, and he turned around and stepped forward to give his grandpa a big, desperate, hug. 

“Oh!” Haruka’s arms came up around him to squeeze. “Well, that’s a pleasant surprise. You haven’t done that since you were younger. Something going on?” 

Shizuka pulled back, and looked at the ground. He couldn’t lie to Haruka, but he very much didn’t want to tell him the truth. He had no idea what Haruka would think. He knew that Sasuke hadn’t told anyone what he did. What would the family think, about either of them? What would his mother think? 

Haruka watched him, sobering. He sat down at the kitchen table. “What’s wrong, Shizuka?” 

Shizuka had no idea how to even make words to describe the feelings he was going to and fro with, but he still really wanted his grandfather’s words to make it alright. His throat was jammed, and he kept looking at the floor. Grandpa Haruka simply waited for him. Shizuka sat at the table across from him, and tried to think of what to say. 

After a full minute of silence, Shizuka managed to speak. 

“Grandpa, can I talk to you?” he asked, quietly and flat. Haruka nodded, keeping the silence. Shizuka lifted his eyes from the grain in the wood. 

“I…” Shizuka hesitated. “I think I like who I’m not supposed to like,” he said, unsure how to phrase it. Haruka frowned, confused. 

“I think you’ll have to give me more than that, son,” he said, softly, and Shizuka swallowed down a burst of fear, looking back to the table. 

“Boys…” he said softly. Haruka stilled, making a soft noise of surprise. Shizuka didn’t look at his face. 

“Yeah?” Haruka said.

Shizuka shrugged. He wasn’t actually sure. He’d kissed one boy and zero girls. But it had been so… He blushed, and then jerked his eyes up when Haruka chuckled. 

“Well, I don’t rightly know how society works nowadays, but I know you can find love in many places - some that you don’t expect.” 

Shizuka blushed harder. “Well, I’m not in love with anyone. It was just a kiss…” 

Haruka laughed again. “There’s my Shizuka, frank as ever. Son,” and he waited until Shizuka looked up to meet his eyes. “I will love you until the sun falls out of the sky. If you loved boys or girls, it doesn’t matter to me. I can’t speak for anyone else, but it _shouldn’t_ matter to them. If it does, that’s their business to work out. Now, I want you to remember that, above all else, alright?” 

“Alright, grandpa,” Shizuka said, his words warming him, and banishing the fear he’d had in his chest. He had no idea what would happen in the future, but at least his grandfather had his back. 

“Wonderful. Now, let’s take advantage of the time your parents are gone, and play a game of cards. You know how your mother disapproves.” 

Quirking a little smile, in answer to Haruka’s grin, Shizuka followed Haruka to his bedroom card table.

~~~~~

**Present Day**

Doumeki hadn’t done anything more with Scott, and soccer practices, while awkward for him, were the same as if it had never happened. Sasuke worriedly asked him before school, if he was alright, if anything had happened, and Doumeki shrugged and told him he was fine. The world rocking revelation ended up not being so world rocking, and nothing much had changed until he’d realized that he wanted to ask Watanuki out. He knew his grandfather would love him regardless, but he hoped his mother, and father would accept this. Doumeki waited, looking away from his mother, until she spoke again. 

“What’s his name?” she asked, and silverware clinked again. Doumeki blinked, and turned back to look at her. She was looking down at the napkin wrapped roll, tucking the ends the way they’d been doing, looking so casual, as if this was a conversation that people had every day. Doumeki resumed folding the napkins. 

“Kimihiro Watanuki.” 

“Japanese?” 

“Half. His dad is Chinese.” 

“Mm,” his mother hummed, and then glanced at him, and Doumeki saw the twinkle in her eyes. “I’m glad you finally told me.” 

Now Doumeki really blinked hard in surprise, mouth opening a little. 

“You knew? Did grandpa tell you?” he asked, and Keiko rolled her eyes. 

“Haruka knew? Of course he did. No, I only wondered. You never seemed that interested in bringing any girls around, while it seemed that was _all_ Noah was interested in. Perhaps if I didn’t have the contrast, I wouldn’t have noticed.” 

Doumeki didn’t know what to say. He stared at his mother, unsure if she was really taking this as well as she appeared to be. And what would his father say? 

There was a noise from the corner of the doorway, and Doumeki saw Haruka leaning in. 

“So, did you spill?” he asked, and Doumeki sighed. 

“Yes, grandpa.” Haruka looked pleased, and came in to sit at the table. Keiko smiled, picking up a pile of napkins and silverware, and handing them to Haruka to help fold. He made a face at her, and she clicked her tongue. 

“Idle hands, grandfather,” she chided gently, and he chuckled and began helping. Keiko turned to Doumeki. “So, tell me about him. And do we get to meet him?” 

“Meet who?” and the last person who he’d meant to tell entered the kitchen. Doumeki looked up at his father, Hayato. 

“Shizuka’s boyfriend,” said Haruka, and Doumeki felt a shock go through him. Keiko swatted Haruka with the napkin. 

“Dad!” 

Hayato hummed, and went to the fridge to drink a gulp of milk out of the carton, his old habit that Doumeki’s mother had never been able to break. 

“That so?” Hayato said, casually, and Doumeki’s head reeled. 

“...Yeah” he said, finally. Keiko smiled, before snapping at Hayato to put the milk back, and stop drinking out of the carton, for heaven’s sake. Haruka met Doumeki’s shocked eyes. 

“Told you so,” he said, warmly, and Doumeki nodded, lifting the corners of his lips up in a relieved smile.


	2. Chapter 2

Watanuki twisted his bag strap around his fingers for the third time, until Himawari reached over and patted his hand. She was driving steadily through the rainy traffic, and being an angel about Watanuki’s nervous rambling about nothing. 

Because, he was meeting Doumeki’s parents today, and it felt like a huge deal, and he had no idea if this was when he was supposed to - he was so inexperienced with _being_ in a relationship - but they’d asked to meet up. He was supposed to be at the coffee shop already, but he’d been held up at the restaurant, and it was raining, and so Himawari had offered to drive him, because she was a goddess, but he was still freaking out -

“Watanuki, it’ll be alright,” she said, yet again. He let out a breath. 

“Have I told you, you’re a saint.” 

“A handful of times,” she said, eyes on the road. “They’ll understand work _and_ the traffic, so don’t go working yourself up into a frenzy.” 

Watanuki took a deep breath. “Thank you again, for driving me.” Doumeki hadn’t been able to drive him, as he’d been coming from the opposite direction ( a study group near his parent’s house, and so he’d picked them up) and Watanuki had meant to walk the short distance between that and the restaurant after his shift. But then he’d gotten food _all_ over him, and it was raining, and he needed to change desperately, and so Himawari had swooped in and saved him. 

“You’ve thanked me a couple times, Watanuki. It’s okay. Why don’t we relax, talk about something else?” 

Watanuki tried to lean back against the seat in her little volkswagen. “Alright…” 

Himawari hummed, and then smiled. “Hey, remember when _we_ tried to go out?” 

Watanuki blinked, startled at the memory. “You’re bringing that up now?” 

Himawari laughed. “Just that it was such a disaster. Didn’t you forget to print out the tickets to that play, and then I wore high heels, which is always a bad plan.” 

“We couldn’t get in, and no taxis would drive by, so we walked home in the rain, and your heel broke.”

“Oh, it was so bad,” Himawari said, full out laughing now. “It works better to be friends, I think,” 

Watanuki smiled at her, feeling better. “You’re right.” Then his smile faded a little. “That seems like it’s true of a lot of people, with me.” 

Himawari glanced over from the windshield, giving him an inquisitive smile. “But, not Doumeki?” 

Watanuki blushed. “I don’t know,” he said. “I’ve never met anyone else’s parents before… not like this.” 

The rain was loud on the roof of the car, and Watanuki heard them go through a massive puddle. Himawari tilted her head, still looking forward to drive, but she didn’t speak. After all, she knew a lot of his ridiculous romantic history since he’d moved out here at 18, lonely and more than a bit heartbroken from a couple different people. She knew how he’d dated a girl back in New York on the summer before he moved in down the hall, and it had ended badly. She’d seen him date around, one or two dates before breaking it off with various people he met at work or around his complex, and then seen how another girl got badly hurt by his unreliability, and he’d stopped asking anyone out at all. Himawari had been his friend that long… but he didn’t think she knew about Matt. The boy who started it all, to be quite dramatic. 

“There was another boy…” Watanuki started, figuring with traffic he’d have enough time to get through the story. “I knew his parents already though. Since I was a little kid.” 

“You were childhood friends?” she asked, and he nodded, remembering back. 

~~~~

**Watanuki’s Senior Fall, about 4 years ago.**

 

“Kim? Kim!” 

Mel’s voice jolted through Kimihiro Watanuki’s doze, and he jerked and flailed, nearly out of his seat on the bus, elbowing Matt in the process. 

“Wha- huh?” Kimihiro blinked at looked around, at Matt next to him on the hard seat, rubbing his arm giving him a wounded look through his floppy brown hair. Kimihiro lifted a hand in apology, before Mel in front of him, snapped her fingers at him. 

“Hey, are you listening? We’re almost there!” she exclaimed. Her short black bangs nearly covered the smudge in her dark eye makeup, from where she had been sleeping as well. 

Mel was Melody Springer, science geek extraordinaire, and the reason they were here on this trip, on the five hour bus ride, to a two day young scientists conference with school permission. Matt and Kimihiro were her assistants, according to the official paperwork. She liked to look goth, but always forgot to act like it, and was way too enthusiastic about space. 

Kimihiro nodded, and yawned, rubbing his face from the imprints of Matt’s sweatshirt seam, on whom he’d apparently been leaning. 

“Sorry,” he murmured to his best friend, and Matt shrugged, blushing. 

“‘S okay,” he said, leaning over. Matt Klauson had a way of looking half his height, which was impressive considering Matt was over six feet tall. Shy and quiet, usually, he didn’t like to be noticed for his tallness, smartness or anything else, so Kimihiro and Mel gladly took up the slack in social interactions with the rest of the world. 

They had been on their way since six a.m. that morning, and it was approaching lunch time, so Kimihiro was hungry as well as tired. Maybe they could find some fast food, or a kitchen?

The bus jolted to a stop, and Kimihiro yawned and stretched, bumping into Matt again. Matt elbowed him back, and Kimihiro laughed as he hit his ticklish spot. 

“Hey-” he protested, but Mel spoke over him. 

“C’mon, you two! It’s time to go in!” 

Kimihiro wasn’t obsessed with space the way Mel was, but he was glad to be out on a trip with his friends, especially with Mel there. During the previous summer, she’d gone to another camp for two whole months, leaving Matt and Kimihiro alone to spend the time. Matt had gotten a little weird, spending a lot more time with him than the three of them had previously, and yet clamming up whenever Kimihiro asked if something was wrong… They’d done some fun things, but it was nice to be a trio again. 

That night, after a full afternoon of conferencing stuff, and science exhibits, Kimihiro was exhausted, yet buzzing with a strange energy, a product of soaking in all the creative hum of the rooms they were in, but not knowing enough to output it. If he wasn’t so interested in cooking, perhaps he could have been a scientist, or an astronaut, but Kimihiro supposed he was happy with his feet firmly on the floor of his kitchen. Tomorrow, he’d be leaving the conference for the true reason he’d convinced his mother he could come on this trip. He’d be scouting out his number one choice for a cooking school, and he couldn’t be more excited about that. Needless to say, by the time the three of them got back to the boy’s hotel room (Mel was placed somewhere else, as per school rules, even though the three of them had had sleepovers since they were children) Kimihiro was in no way ready to sleep. 

Matt glanced over at him. 

“Are you alright, Kim?” he asked, smiling slightly. Kimihiro huffed, sitting on the bed. 

“I’m just, excited to be here, I guess.” 

“You get what I mean, right? The science is _amazing!_ ” Mel interjected, leaning forward to put her hands on her knees. 

Kimihiro nodded. 

“Well, yes that, but it’s just… things are changing. I’m checking out that school tomorrow, and everything, but,” he smiled at his friends. “We’re always going to be the same, aren’t we?” 

Mel glanced at Matt, with a quick look he couldn’t decipher, before she grinned. “Hell yeah!” 

“Yeah,” Matt said, leaning close and bumping his shoulder against Kimihiro’s. “Always.” 

Kimihiro was curious about the pause, but nothing seemed wrong now. Then, there was a quick knock on the hotel room door. Mel got up and opened it, even though this wasn’t her room. 

“What? Oh, hey Carlos,” Mel said.

It was one of the science students who’d come on the bus with them. He grinned at the three of them, leaning in the doorway. 

“I heard there’s a party going on just outside town, some of the locals. Visitors welcome, wanna come?” 

He seemed to be talking to Mel, which was odd since he’d come to their door. Mel lifted one finger, and closed the door in his face. 

“Guys? Wanna go to a party?” 

Matt looked at Kimihiro. Kimihiro knew he was too worked up to stay inside tonight, but he’d been thinking of finding an ice cream place… a party sounded fun as well. 

“Sure!” Kimihiro said. Matt then nodded. 

“I’ll go too.” 

“Great!” Mel grinned, and opened the door again. “We’ll be there!” she said to Carlos, before closing the door again. 

~

The party wasn’t exactly what Kimihiro and the others had expected, but it was just like teenage parties on TV, which was a little weird to see in real life. Red cups were everywhere, and people were drinking and dancing to the loud music, and making out in the corners. Kimihiro paused on the way in, and looked round at his friends. 

“Are we sure about this?” he asked, and Mel smiled. 

“C’mon, it’ll be fine!” 

Kimihiro looked at Matt, who was always more happy with quiet, to see what he thought. He smiled at him, blushing a little. 

“If you want to go, I’ll be fine,” he said, meeting Kimihiro’s eyes. “Don’t worry about me.” 

Kimihiro nodded, and then turned back to the party’s main floor, before they ventured in. Mel quickly found Carlos and some of the other science attendees. They were already drinking soda and beer, chatting and having fun. Mel waved him and Matt away, though, looking straight at Carlos, so they vacated the area with a laugh. Kimihiro lost himself in the party, laughing with people he didn’t know, and finding a soda can to hold to avoid being offered a drink. Time passed, and he realized he’d lost both his friends, until a hand grabbed his elbow. He wheeled around to come face to face with Matt. 

“Hey!” Kimihiro said, greeting him. Then he frowned and leaned closer. “Hey, have you been drinking?” 

Matt was swaying slightly, looking flushed, and strange. Kimihiro had never seen him drink before. Kimihiro grabbed his shoulder, when he looked he was about to pitch forward. He was looking at him oddly, staring right into his face with an intensity that Kimihiro wasn’t used to. 

“Woah, are you alright?” he asked, steadying him. Matt shook his head. 

“No,” he said, and Kimihiro looked him over anew. 

“Did something happen? Do you need to sit down?” 

“Kim,” he started, and his tone dragged Kimihiro’s eyes back to his. “I’m tired of this.” 

“This? This what, what are you talking about? Look, I think you ought to get a drink of water, and try to calm down-” 

“Kim, I’ve been trying to tell you, for so long, I’ve been trying to make you see…” 

Matt was rambling, desperately for some reason, and red faced from the drinking, and looking at him fiercely. Kimihiro stared at him, trying to understand what was happening, when suddenly he thought he had an inkling of what was going on. The blushing, the closeness… then just seconds later, Matt leaned down (so far down) and kissed him. 

Kimihiro had the fleeting thought that maybe he should have seen this coming, as it sure explained a lot of things since Mel left for the summer. Matt had been acting so _weird_. Then, Kimihiro’s arms caught up with his thoughts, and he jerked back, pushing Matt away with a jolt. Matt blinked at him, startled (and he didn’t know if he was startled at being pushed away, or that he’d done that in the first place - he hoped it was the second one). 

“What the hell?” he said, voice a bit breathless, because oh _god_ Matt had just _kissed_ him! 

“I- I thought,” Matt started, but his voice stopped without continuation. Kimihiro stared at him. 

“Thought? Thought what?” he demanded, and then he cringed as people around them began to look over, at their loud argument. Loud on Kimihiro’s part, anyway. He grabbed Matt’s sleeve and pulled. “Argh, let’s go talk outside!” 

Matt followed along meekly, and most people didn’t look to see Kimihiro’s stormy, confused face, except Mel, who Kimihiro caught face palming as he went by. Kimihiro didn’t know whether it was about Matt’s action, Kimihiro’s reaction, or if she just had a headache. She probably knew though. She always knew what the two boys were thinking, and she probably was aware of whatever was going on in Matt’s head right now. 

They made it outside without incident, onto a long wrap around porch lit only by a few lamps. It was mostly private, though and so Kimihiro wheeled around to face Matt. 

“Okay, what the hell was that, Matt?” he demanded. 

Matt was covering his face, blushing obviously now, and coming down a little from whatever liquid courage he’d needed to do that in the first place. But, Kimihiro’s question was _why_? Why had he done it? 

“I don’t know,” Matt started, and Kimihiro waved his arm around. 

“You don’t know? I think it was pretty obvious what you were doing?” 

“Yeah,” 

“You kissed me,” Kimihiro said, chopping his hand down. “Why? Why did you do that? You don’t just kiss your best friend out of nowhere!” 

They’d been friends for ages, since Kimihiro moved into the same complex - they used to be neighbors before Matt’s dad moved into a house, and his dad had made an effort to keep them in the same school district growing up, because of their friendship. Mel was a friend he made at school, but Matt had been there since day one, when he was nine years old and hurting from leaving his dad behind in New York, and not understanding why his mother wasn’t upset by it. 

Matt swallowed. “I wanted to. I thought...it’d be okay…” 

Kimihiro gaped at him. “Why?” he gasped, still confused as hell. 

“Because to everyone else, you’ve pretty much been dating since school started,” said a flat voice, and Mel stepped out on to the now emptied porch. “I told you to _use words_ , Matt. In _every_ letter, dammit.” 

“Yeah,” Matt said, hanging his head. Kimihiro’s mouth was still wide open. 

“What?” he looked from Matt to Mel. “What is he talking about? What are _you_ talking about? We’re not dating…” 

But, Kimihiro remembered how strange Matt had been that summer and fall. Organizing activities just for the two of them, paying for meals, leaning close to reach for the popcorn, or putting his arm on the back of the couch during moving nights. They’d even held hands, when Kimihiro had gotten a splinter on a wooden roller coaster ride, and Matt had gotten it out, sitting on a bench at the fair. He’d be so oblivious.

“What?” he finished in a soft squeak.

Matt was bent over, humiliated obviously, and usually Kimihiro would step in, and turn him away from whatever was causing it, but this time it was _him_ , and Kimihiro had no idea what to do. 

“You… thought we were dating?” Kimihiro said, and Matt flinched. 

“Not thought… so much as orchestrated under false pretenses,” Matt said, finally breaking his silence. Kimihiro still was gaping. 

“And, did I… I was dating you back?” 

Matt looked at him now, eyes wider. Then he turned to Mel, who turned the three look passalong back to Kimihiro. 

“I didn’t really realize that you two hadn’t talked about it, to be honest, Kim. You acted pretty datey, sometimes.” 

Kimihiro’s mind was reeling. The porch around him blurred out, and he shivered in the chilly night air. 

“But, but I’m not…” _gay_ he finished in his mind, but he remembered that kiss, and found it didn’t gross him out, not like he assumed it would have if he were straight. It hadn’t occurred to him, during it, all he felt was surprise. Thinking back, he realized he didn’t really care, that people were people. But, he hadn’t thought of _Matt_ in that way. He’d never wanted to kiss him, or kiss anyone. But maybe he hadn’t given anyone a chance… “I mean, I didn’t realize I…” 

Matt was watching him, a terrible sadness on his face. “I’m sorry,” he said, and to Kimihiro’s horror, his voice was thick. “I should have talked to you, I should have-” he covered his face with his hands, and Kimihiro stepped forward without hesitation. 

“Don’t- don’t cry, Matt,” he said, helplessly waving his hands. “Stop, let’s talk about this.” 

Matt nodded, and sniffed, lowering his hands to look at him. “Sorry.” 

“Don’t be.” Kimihiro made a decision then, and he leaned forward to awkwardly kiss Matt, clunking their mouths together more than anything. It was weird, and hurt slightly, and Matt smelled like beer, but Kimihiro decided that he meant it. Mel whooped in surprised laughter, somewhere to the side, and Kimihiro broke away to glare at her. “Hey, wanna give us moment?” 

She laughed, waving her hand in an apology. “I’m sorry, sorry,” she said. “It’s just, I knew my gaydar wasn’t wrong, Matt. Didn’t I tell you!” 

Kimihiro frowned. “You were discussing my sexuality?” 

Mel calmed, and gestured to Matt. “Well, he was getting so sad, I had to reassure him. You’re _not_ straight, right?” 

Kimihiro stared at her, and then turned back to Matt, the boy that he’d just kissed. He was looking at him, with a gushy look on his face, cheeks red, eyes glassy. He spoke to Matt. 

“It doesn’t matter to me, boy or girl. If you want to try dating, I’ll try it. You’re my best friend, Matt. I wished you’d talked to me though.” 

Matt nodded. “I’m really sorry,” he said, and then his eyes shone, and Kimihiro was reminded that he was still a bit drunk. “You’re really okay with this?” 

“Yeah,” Kimihiro said, unsure if he was, completely. But it was something Matt wanted to try, and he did care enough about Matt to want to give him a chance. Maybe those romantic feelings came when you were doing romantic things. At least, when both parties were aware that they were both doing romantic things, anyway.

Matt smiled at him, and Kimihiro smiled back, realizing that this was something he’d never done before. Terrible nerves struck him, because what if he messed this up, and then would he lose his best friend, and-?

Mel whacked him on the head. 

“Hey, don’t panic now. Just act the same as normal, and no one will be able to tell the difference.” 

Kimihiro winced. “I was really that oblivious?” he asked, looking between her and Matt. Matt half smiled, shrugging. 

“Sometimes it was cute,” he said, and Kimihiro started and felt his face go hot. 

“Wha- you can’t just _say_ stuff like that!” he protested, and Mel laughed. 

“Sure he can, you’re dating now, right?” she said, and Kimihiro looked at Matt, searching for some squishy, happy feeling at that statement. Maybe there was something? He wasn’t sure. Matt reached for his hand. Kimihiro let him take it.

“Yeah, I guess we are,” he said.

~~~~

**Present Day**

It didn’t work out with Matt. He could tell that Watanuki didn’t exactly feel the same way, and after some time, he broke it off. Watanuki handled the break up worse than Matt, a deep pain settling inside him, a fear that he wasn’t capable of returning those kinds of feelings. It spurred a string of dates with various people, trying to create that feeling, but he’d never really gotten this far before. 

If he could be honest with himself, this new thing with Doumeki was scaring him, because he’d never _felt_ so much when he was dating someone. And it wasn’t just squishy feelings either; Watanuki was feeling anger, annoyance, exasperation, along with a growing happiness, fondness and a comfort around Doumeki that no one he’d dated had really given him. 

It was so _weird_! 

And now he was meeting his family, and taking more and more steps with him, and a part of him was cheering, thinking that this was it, this was what he’d been looking for, while the rest of him _shushed_ that part with all its worth. This didn’t happen for him, and especially not with jerks like Doumeki! He was letting this move forward, and rebelling against himself in the same breath. 

Himawari had listened to his story, before patting his hand as they arrived at the designated meeting place, the coffee shop nearby the restaurant. Doumeki’s car was already outside, so Watanuki assumed they were all waiting for him, and he cringed again, realizing how late he was. He sat in the car, and turned once more towards Himawari before getting out into the rain. 

“I do owe you one. A dozen cupcakes? A home cooked meal? What can I pay you back with?” 

Himawari smiled. “I can never pass up your cooking, Watanuki, but it doesn’t have to be special. Now, go, they’re waiting!” 

He nodded, and reached for the door before pausing. “Thanks for listening.” 

Himawari reached forward and put her hand on his wrist. “Doumeki is not Matt, and you’re not dating him because you feel like you have too. Just listen to yourself, and things will work out fine.” Then, she let him go, and made pushing motions at him. “Have fun in there!” 

Watanuki nodded, against a nervous leap in his stomach, pulled his hood up and ran from the car to the shop. He immediately saw Doumeki in a corner, sitting at a table with three adults. A woman who could only be Doumeki’s mother, with dark hair and lovely features that looked like her son, sat beside another Japanese man, Doumeki’s step-father, and beside Doumeki was an older man, who he assumed was Doumeki’s grandfather. 

Watanuki waved, and then came over. 

“I’m sorry I’m late,” he puffed, and Doumeki met his eyes, 

“We haven’t been here long,” he said, and Watanuki relaxed a little. Doumeki’s mother nodded. 

“Yes, traffic was dismal for us too.” 

There were noises of agreement, and then Doumeki stood up, made the introductions. 

“Watanuki, this is my mother Keiko, my father Hayato, and my grandfather Haruka. Everyone, this is Kimihiro Watanuki.” Doumeki’s voice was flat, but Watanuki could see the nerves in him, and he smiled to put him at ease. 

“It’s nice to meet you all,” he said, before he was enveloped in a hug. 

“It’s wonderful to meet you,” Keiko said, pressing her cheek to his. Watanuki squeaked a bit in surprise, before she pulled back. “But do you go by Watanuki? Or is it Kimihiro?” 

Watanuki glanced at Doumeki, surprise running through him belatedly, as he recalled that they both called each other their last names. Then Watanuki shrugged. 

“I guess we both just got in the habit of using our last names. I usually go by Watanuki here, but either is fine.” 

Haruka grinned at him. “We’re excited to meet the one Shizuka’s told us about. He wasn’t very descriptive.” 

Watanuki laughed nervously. 

Keiko smiled, and everyone got settled again. Watanuki took a seat next to Doumeki, his face dully burning. Haruka stood up, and began asking people for their drink orders, saying he’d go to the counter for them all, and then Doumeki leaned in to whisper to Watanuki. 

“Thanks for coming,” he said, and Watanuki’s blush got hotter. 

“It’s no big deal,” he said, too quickly. Then he relented. “Sorry I’m late.” 

Doumeki met his eyes, and his eyes were warm, happy and made him blush, dammit. 

“It’s okay,” he said.


End file.
